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ACC Insider - Coach K knew early his team wasn't right

Duke's Mason Plumlee (5) shoots over Maryland's Alex Len (25) and Jake Layman (10) during the first half of an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game in Greensboro on Friday, March 15, 2013. Photo by Associated Press

Published: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 11:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 11:40 p.m.

GREENSBORO | Mike Krzyzewski has been coaching long enough to know when his team just isn't right.

It took only 93 seconds Friday for him to come to that ominous realization.

“We were not there,” Krzyzewski said. “You do it long enough, you know, ‘This just isn't right.' You try to right the ship right away.”

Krzyzewski made the attempt by calling a quick timeout. But on this night, not even that helped.

The same Blue Devils team that looked so good in running rival North Carolina out of its own gym just one week ago appeared listless and at times uninterested in its ACC tournament quarterfinal matchup with Maryland.

The result was a 4-of-25 performance from 3-point range, a 10-rebound disadvantage on the boards and a stunning 83-74 elimination at the hands of the inspired Terrapins that made an already unpredictable tournament bracket even more wide open than ever.

“We had a lot of momentum coming in,” point guard Quinn Cook said. “But we just came out here today with no energy.”

No one on the Blue Devils (27-5) could come up with a reasonable explanation for why they came out so flat.

If ever they should have been motivated, this was the situation

Krzyzewski lives for this tournament and takes great pleasure in winning it. His team was also playing for a potential No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. And if that wasn't enough, Friday's was Duke's first in Greensboro Coliseum since last year's humiliating opening-round NCAA loss to Lehigh.

But not the opportunity to erase that bad memory was enough to light a fire under a team that has always prided itself for its effort – even when its shots weren't going in.

Maryland, which likely needs to win the tournament to get an NCAA bid, clearly sensed the Blue Devils' vulnerability.

With Dez Wells leading the charge on his way to a 30-point effort, the Terps began attacking the basket from the opening possession. They rolled out to a 12-2 lead and never looked back.

Only once did Duke seem to have an answer, when it reeled off a 17-6 run early in the second half to close the gap to just one at 45-44. But it was never able to get over the hump.

Maryland (22-11) continued to beat the Blue Devils to the basket both off the dribble and on the boards while Duke's shots stopped falling – much to the delight of a sellout crowd that, for at least a few moments, forgave the Terps for their decision to leave the ACC for the Big Ten.

“When people are put in a position where they have to win,” Krzyzewski said, “sometimes they elevate.”

And when they're not in as urgent a situation, sometimes the opposite happens,

Krzyzewski even foreshadowed that possibility in his postgame comments at Chapel Hill last Saturday, when he openly worried that “we have to be careful how we bring our team along so we're fresh for the following week (and the NCAA tournament).”

If there's a silver lining to an otherwise dismal performance for Duke, it's that it will have three extra days to rest up, reset and begin preparations for what it hopes will be a much longer stay in the next – and final – postseason event of the year.

Though it didn't seem like it Friday, the loss to Maryland could turn out to be the best thing that could happen for the Blue Devils. But only if they use their unplanned hiatus wisely to correct their mistakes and find their suddenly lost motivation.

“This is no time to start questioning things,” said senior center Mason Plumlee, one of his team's few bright spots Friday with 19 points and seven rebounds. “At the same time, we have to right the ship going forward, because if this happens next week we're done.”

<p>GREENSBORO | Mike Krzyzewski has been coaching long enough to know when his team just isn't right.</p><p>It took only 93 seconds Friday for him to come to that ominous realization.</p><p>“We were not there,” Krzyzewski said. “You do it long enough, you know, 'This just isn't right.' You try to right the ship right away.”</p><p>Krzyzewski made the attempt by calling a quick timeout. But on this night, not even that helped.</p><p>The same Blue Devils team that looked so good in running rival North Carolina out of its own gym just one week ago appeared listless and at times uninterested in its ACC tournament quarterfinal matchup with Maryland.</p><p>The result was a 4-of-25 performance from 3-point range, a 10-rebound disadvantage on the boards and a stunning 83-74 elimination at the hands of the inspired Terrapins that made an already unpredictable tournament bracket even more wide open than ever.</p><p>“We had a lot of momentum coming in,” point guard Quinn Cook said. “But we just came out here today with no energy.”</p><p>No one on the Blue Devils (27-5) could come up with a reasonable explanation for why they came out so flat. </p><p>If ever they should have been motivated, this was the situation</p><p>Krzyzewski lives for this tournament and takes great pleasure in winning it. His team was also playing for a potential No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. And if that wasn't enough, Friday's was Duke's first in Greensboro Coliseum since last year's humiliating opening-round NCAA loss to Lehigh.</p><p>But not the opportunity to erase that bad memory was enough to light a fire under a team that has always prided itself for its effort – even when its shots weren't going in.</p><p>Maryland, which likely needs to win the tournament to get an NCAA bid, clearly sensed the Blue Devils' vulnerability.</p><p>With Dez Wells leading the charge on his way to a 30-point effort, the Terps began attacking the basket from the opening possession. They rolled out to a 12-2 lead and never looked back.</p><p>Only once did Duke seem to have an answer, when it reeled off a 17-6 run early in the second half to close the gap to just one at 45-44. But it was never able to get over the hump.</p><p>Maryland (22-11) continued to beat the Blue Devils to the basket both off the dribble and on the boards while Duke's shots stopped falling – much to the delight of a sellout crowd that, for at least a few moments, forgave the Terps for their decision to leave the ACC for the Big Ten.</p><p>“When people are put in a position where they have to win,” Krzyzewski said, “sometimes they elevate.”</p><p>And when they're not in as urgent a situation, sometimes the opposite happens, </p><p>Krzyzewski even foreshadowed that possibility in his postgame comments at Chapel Hill last Saturday, when he openly worried that “we have to be careful how we bring our team along so we're fresh for the following week (and the NCAA tournament).”</p><p>If there's a silver lining to an otherwise dismal performance for Duke, it's that it will have three extra days to rest up, reset and begin preparations for what it hopes will be a much longer stay in the next – and final – postseason event of the year.</p><p>Though it didn't seem like it Friday, the loss to Maryland could turn out to be the best thing that could happen for the Blue Devils. But only if they use their unplanned hiatus wisely to correct their mistakes and find their suddenly lost motivation.</p><p>“This is no time to start questioning things,” said senior center Mason Plumlee, one of his team's few bright spots Friday with 19 points and seven rebounds. “At the same time, we have to right the ship going forward, because if this happens next week we're done.”</p><p><i> </p><p>ACC Insider <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic24"><b>Brett Friedlander</b></a> can be reached at starnews@gmail.com.</i></p>